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BOOK REVIEW: “How to Eat a Lobster: And Other Edible Enigmas Explained” by Ashley Blom

May 12, 2017
From using the correct fork during a formal three-course meal to holding a wine glass like a connoisseur, the world of fine dining is full of established – and unspoken – rules and practices. But unless you enroll in an etiquette class, these rules often go unexplained.

In “How to Eat a Lobster: And Other Edible Enigmas Explained” (Quirk Books; $12.99/hardcover) food writer Ashley Blom answers fifty essential food etiquette questions you would never think to ask, until you find yourself in possession of a rambutan or the plate you’ve just been served has a whole fish staring up at you. Where do you start?

In this perfect pocket-sized cheat sheet for young foodies, Bloom shares easy-to-follow instructions, accompanied by helpful illustrations, to guide you through tricks and techniques that everyone else seems to have mastered, including how to:

* Use chopsticks and eat sushi like a pro.

* Open a coconut, slice a mango, or eat a papaya on your next tropical vacation

An ideal gift for aspiring epicures looking to impress friends at brunch and colleagues at their next networking event, “How to Eat a Lobster” will guide even the most inexperienced eater through some of the culinary world’s most mysterious and challenging situations.

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Ashley Blom is a food writer and blogger in Austin, Texas. She has been featured in Buzzfeed, the Emerson Review, FamilyFun, the Brattleboro Reformer, and more. She blogs at Quarter Life (Crisis) Cuisine and Forking Up.